TO ALEXANDRA KOLLONTAI

Written:Written before August 19, 1915Published:First published in 1924 in LeninMiscellany II.

      Sent from Sörenberg to Christiania (Oslo).

      Printed from the original.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,1971,

      Moscow,Volume 36,

      page341.Translated:Andrew RothsteinTranscription\Markup:R. CymbalaPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive.You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work, as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.

TheVorkonferenz(II) has been postponed until
Sept. 5.[1]

Höglundand the Left Norwegians (and what about the
Danes?)mustprocure an invitation themselves. Theyshould
sendtheir statements, requests and declarationsto us(for
the C.C.) in writing, signed and stamped, in one of the
three international languages.

Verywarm regards to Alexander (why is heonlycriticising my
draft?[2]Let’s have your amendments,s’il vous
plaît!)—and to you for your successful work among the Left
in Scandinavia.

Yours,Lenin

Ithink it is hardly likely that the conference will
materialise soon, if at all. However, let Höglundprepare, seriously
andurgently.

Butare they willing to have a joint manifesto with us
on behalf of the Left in the various countries (independently
of the conference)?

[1]Insteadof a second preliminary meeting at Zimmerwald, the
conference proper was held there from September 5 to 8, 1915.
It was the scene of a struggle between revolutionary
internationalists led by Lenin, and the Kautskyite majority. Lenin organised
his supporters into the Zimmerwald Left, a group in which the
Bolshevik Party was alone in consistently following a correct and
internationalist line against the war.

Theconference adopted a manifesto, which declared the war
to be imperialist, condemned the behaviour of the “socialists”
who voted for the war credits and took part in bourgeois
governments, and called on the workers of Europe to campaign against
the war, for a peace without indemnities and annexations.

Theconference also adopted a resolution expressing sympathy
with the victims of war and elected an International Socialist
Commission (I.S.K).

Onthe significance of the Zimmerwald Conference, see Lenin’s
“The First Step” and “Revolutionary Marxists at the
International Socialist Conference, Sept. 5–8, 1915” (present edition,
Vol. 21, pp. 383–88 and 389–93).

[2]Lenin’s“The Draft Resolution Proposed by the Left Wing at
Zimmerwald” (see present edition, Vol. 21, pp. 345–48).